The Bright Spirituality of Stephen Mueller

Untitled (NYC), 2010; watercolor and gouache on paper, 12 x 12 in. All images courtesy of Lennon, Weinberg, Inc. 

When I spend an hour or two walking through Chelsea galleries, I am rarely moved and thrilled by work in a show; it is a precious experience because so infrequent. Seeing the paintings of Stephen Mueller (1947-2011), currently at Lennon, Weinberg gallery (up until January 5th!, with limited schedule) was one such happy occasion. The small works on paper, in their bright, almost wacky colors, and their translucent light, were joyful and meditative. I felt I was looking at a Western cousin to the brilliant Tantric paintings of India. (You can see the entire catalog for the show here, as the gallery has generously provided an online flip book, from which I took these images.)

Untitled (NYC), detail

The small paintings invite close, slow observation. Mueller approached each form with tender care, with a delicate precision that speaks of depth and attention rather than any kind of fussy obsessiveness. His control of his medium is exquisite: from flowing, subtle translucent shifts of hue, to careful opacities.

Untitled (NYC-6), 2011; watercolor and gouache on paper, 12 x 12 in. 

What is so engaging about these works is their lightheartedness, their inventive forms not of any real world, yet seeming so true, as though they are embodied spirits.

Untitled (NYC), 2010; watercolor and gouache on paper, 12 x 12 in. 

The purple fan shape above and these double globes are figural; when I look at them my mind inhabits these shapes, and floats in their spaces.

Untitled (NYC-5), 2011; watercolor and gouache on paper, 12 x 12 in. 

Untitled (Charleston-1), 2010; watercolor on paper, 12 x 12 in. 

A mystery of these paintings is how such festive, patterned images can be so very deep and carry so much emotional and spiritual weight. Like Tantric paintings they seem to approach an essence of life and joy.

Untitled (Charleston), 2009; watercolor and gouache on paper, 12 x 12 in.

A surrounding darkness opens on a bright, full heart.

Untitled (Charleston), 2009; watercolor and gouache on paper, 12 x 12 in. 

Mueller's images are often described as mandalas, a Sanskrit word meaning "circle". Of the images I've shown, this to me is closest to a Hindu form, with its circle, and shapes like lingam, procreative forces within a brilliant light.

Kabir, 2011; acrylic on canvas, 57 1/2 x 36 in. 

My current preoccupations made me more receptive to Mueller's small works on paper––their intimacy and sensitivity enchanted me––but the larger paintings are also spirited and playful and mysterious. These are all abstract paintings that go far beyond the formal, into a world of spirit, beyond our world of appearances.